Mare Creesto
by wildhearthope
Summary: Power Rangers are a TV show. At least, that's what Jo thought. Then she died, and became one. Not just any Ranger, but she's on a team on a planet far from Earth, and nobody can know that she's a girl. Let's just say, life's interesting now. Very AU.
1. Lady Green

A/N: New Author, with a very AU story...hope you like.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Power Rangers...at least, nothing that makes me cash...I own the movies...nevermind. I get no money from this story.

* * *

_Jo bit her lip tightly as she glanced across the street, the signal flashed to walk and she grinned. Checking both ways quickly, she broke into a jog, eager to get across. Screeching tires overwhelmed her iPod and then she was filled with pain, and air born. She saw the ground coming up to hit her and she tried to brace herself before darkness engulfed her._

She stood in a forest, with a beautiful sun flickering through the leaves. Looking down, Jo saw that she was in the clothes she thought she remembered wearing: Black jeans, black boots, black leather jacket, green tank and her hat. "Who are you?" Someone demanded.

Jo spun, her hand dropping to her back pocket, "Who are you?" She snapped back before taking in the appearance of the people behind her. Five men, with brightly colored hair were staring at her suspiciously. She slipped her hand down to grab her pocket knife, but it was gone. "What the fudge is going on!" She demanded of them. Then froze, that had not been the word she'd planned to say. It had been her thought, but her mouth had not followed through.

"That's what I would like to know," one of them said, the one who had spoke before, he irritably shoved back some of his green hair, and a blue streak came free to hang in his eyes. Jo regarded him for a moment, and then decided that he _was_ wearing a real uniform. Nobody who wore a costume that stupid could keep his face _that_ straight.

"Peace." An old man in long robes appeared between them. Although Jo had first pegged the robes as black, when the old man lifted his arms, they shimmered through Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Black, Green, Silver, White, Gold and Purple. "Stand easy Rangers," he continued, addressing the men. "Are you well, Jo?" He asked, turning to Jo.

"Who are you?" She demanded, not at all happy with the way things were going, especially since she'd been censored, again. She put one hand on her hip and the other reached up to toss her hair from her face, "This is kidnapping, you know."

"My name is Zordon," he said, "I am a guardian of all that is good." Jo wondered how long he'd practiced saying that phrase, in that pose, to keep that look of serene calm on his features.

"Well, that excludes me," Jo muttered.

"Not true," Zordon corrected gently. "Are you well?"

"I'm just peachy," she snapped, crossing her arms.

"I am sorry to have disrupted your life," Zordon said, "but it was a thing that had to be done." Before Jo could make any sort of response, he turned to the men, "Andorran, Malachi, if I may have a word with you, in private."

Two of the men, in matching uniforms, nodded and followed Zordon away from them. "Hi, I'm Nikolai," said one of the others, who bore a startling resemblance to one of the two who had just left.

"Jo," Jo replied, "Jo O'Shae. Where are we?"

"In the Morphin' Grid, on a Power Quest," Nikolai replied.

"Uh," Jo said, "Not understanding a word of that."

"You are familiar with the Power Rangers, correct?"

"Isn't that, like, a TV show?" Jo asked, popping one hand on her hip and tilting her head at him.

"No," Zordon said, leading the two he'd singled out back to the group. "Jo, I would like to speak with you."

Jo followed him across the clearing, "Look, old man, I want to go back home."

"Let me show you something," Zordon replied, "I swear to you, on my honor as a Power Ranger Mentor and Guardian, that what you are about to see is true."

"Yes," Jo said, "Because I understand what that means, so it means something to me."

Zordon sighed, "I swear then, on my honor, that what you see is true."

"Fine," Jo snapped.

Zordon gestured and they stood on a street corner that Jo recognized. In fact, she could see herself standing across the way, "I took us back some, so that you could see what happened," Zordon told her.

The signal changed and 'Other' Jo trotted across the street, then a car spun around the corner and struck her, knocking her away from the crosswalk. The car stopped and the driver got out, running to the limp body. Jo stepped back into Zordon, and the old man's hands rested firmly on her shoulders. Moments later, cops and an ambulance arrived. After a few moments of trying to revive her, the ambulance covered her body with a sheet. "I'm dead," Jo whispered.

Suddenly, they were back in the clearing and Jo tore herself away, "I'm dead?" She repeated, demanding and questioning, trying to make sense in a world that had dropped out from under her.

"Yes," Zordon said, "in that world, you have died. However, should you chose to accept the Power you are offered, you will have a new life here. It will not be easy here, but you will one day find love and happiness."

Jo shuddered as she considered it, then she lifted her eyes to focus on Zordon, "I'll do it," she said. "I may not know much about Rangers, but I remember that movie. They do good, and maybe I'm not as good a person as those characters seemed to be, but I'm willing to try."

The man in uniform who had spoken to her first stepped forward, "Lady Jo, there is a final thing you must know." He said, "You will not be living on Earth if you join our team as Zordon intends. Marè Creesto is a planet of strict laws. Women are not permitted to be Rangers, should a woman take up a morpher; the least punishment would be a severe beating and exile. Should she use that morpher in battle, she would be killed. Further more, Marè Creesto are self-reliant, it is even written in our law that off-world Rangers are forbidden to come to Marè Creesto, much less for us to fight with them. Malachi and I served off-planet during our time in the military, we do not hold with these laws, although there is no following for change. I cannot predict what will happen should your identity be revealed."

Jo put her hands on her hips, "Well, I'm not exactly on the right side of the law back home either. I'm a street kid; I break laws every time I _breathe."_

"We will work with you on hiding who you are," he replied said, "So that people do not suspect you."

"I'll, try my best not to get into trouble," Jo replied.

The five men stacked their hands, like they had done in the movie and TV show, and they looked at Jo expectantly. She sighed and laid her hand on top, her whole attitude reading how stupid this was. Zordon's hands fell on her shoulders. "Andorran, you have always been a strong warrior and leader. You will be the Red Ranger." Zordon said. "Nikolai, you are a bright mind and gifted inventor. Your honor will be as the Blue Ranger. Emali, child of peace and hope, you will join as the Yellow Ranger. Kendor, man of vision and art, you will bring strength to the team as the Black Ranger. Malachi, born of war and spirit, you will be the White Ranger. Jo O'Shae, child of Earth, you will become the Green Ranger, strength in battle, and in life."

The new Rangers began to glow in their new colors and then they lifted their hands upwards, "Power Rangers," Jo murmured with a grin.

Sparkles exploded from their hands and the five men called out, "Marè Creesto!" Jo followed a breath behind, stumbling on the words. It worked, because they were soon in morph. As Jo looked down at her chest, and saw the emblem she grinned, it was clearly a stylized dragon.

"This is so cool," she exclaimed, and started as a man's voice reached her ears. "What?"

"To ensure that the Marè Creesto believes you to be a shy man," Zordon said, "your suit has modifications."

"All right," Jo said, looking at the others.

"Your Quest has ended, Marè Creesto Rangers. Go home, to your new command chamber, and find peace." Zordon said.

"Wait," Jo said, she looked at the others, "First things first," She turned to them, "So, I've got to play the part of a guy, right? That won't be too hard, I faked a boy when I first went on the streets, and I can do it again. This is only going to work if you don't think of me as a girl. I know some tricks that will help, but I'm going to need some things that I can't just walk into a store and buy." She leaned carefully on a consol and crossed her arms. "However, we'll start with basics, my name is Drake, a kid who didn't mean to end up on the Quest, but did. I'm painfully shy, so I don't go out in public much, and since I was an orphan with no family, there's nobody to miss me. I'm sixteen."

"We're all moving out to Command since we've passed," Andorran said, "so that won't be a problem. We all said we weren't going to hide that we're Rangers, but we aren't going to flaunt it. It's happened that Rangers change their names when they become Rangers, nobody will think twice about it."

As the others nodded, Jo relaxed slightly. "All right then, let's do this." Bright light surrounded them and they reappeared in a room filled with more technology than Jo had ever seen.

"Power Down," Andorran said.

The other four followed suit, but Jo did not.

Nikolai yawned. "I'm tired. Computer, what time is it?"

"Three bells past the quarter hour," a female, computerized voice responded.

"Wow," Malachi said.

"How late is that?" Jo asked.

"Very late," Andorran said. "Come on, let's get you settled. Computer, lock all observations of Green Ranger under Ranger lock, no one but this team is to know his identity."

"Compliance."

"All right, Drake," Andorran said, "let's get you in bed. I've got something you can borrow to sleep in. It's even green."

"Thanks," Jo said, dryly. She followed Andorran through the Chamber and down a long hallway. "So, lots of Rangers live here?"

"Not really," Andorran said. "The Chamber's remade with every team, after we do a ceremony in the morning taking our place as the new Ranger Team, we'll come back here and settle in, including placing our wishes on this place."

A door opened and Jo tensed. An older man with a limp came out, "Back so soon, Andorran? Did you get kicked out?" He asked.

"No," Andorran said, "we just got back. This is Drake, he got caught up in the Power by accident, and Zordon told us that he was supposed to be on our team."

Jo inclined her head slightly. "Not powering down yet?" The man asked.

"No," Jo said, quietly, she glanced at Andorran.

"Drake," Andorran paused, "has a history. We told him that being Chosen as a Ranger will make it go away, but he doesn't trust us. Something Zordon said to him got him to trust us, but he's not taking anything for granted. This room's empty, Drake. You take it. I'll get those night clothes and be back soon."

Jo nodded, "Thanks," she murmured and slipped into the room he indicated. "Now, how do I lock this?"

"Door locks engaged." The computer announced.

"That's freaky," Jo said, turning to look at the room. "What is this, a closet?" She asked, rhetorically. It was a narrow room with a long low bunk on one side, and some sort of bins lined the other side of the room. She walked down to the end and back, and shook her head, "Computer, Andorran said that the Chamber is remade with each team. What does that include?"

"The team designs the living quarters and has some say in the set up of the Command Chamber itself. The Power makes the changes." The Computer replied, "Red Ranger Nerolan requests entrance."

Jo turned to the door, "Unlock the door, please."

Moments later, it opened, and the man from the hallway came in. "Drake?"

"Yes sir?" Jo asked, cautiously.

"I'm Nerolan, and I'm not your enemy. Like you, I'm a Ranger with a history. The day before I joined a Power Quest, I killed a man. It was in self defense, but it was almost declared murder. That would have stained my record for life if I hadn't joined this group of idiots looking to be heroes."

"Hey!" A second man appeared behind Nerolan and Jo shifted into a defensive position.

"Mac, you idiot!" Nerolan hissed, his tone amused. "Drake, this is Maclaren. Mac, this is one of the new Rangers, Drake. He's not a people person."

Jo inclined her head, "Ranger Maclaren," she murmured.

"It's Mac," Maclaren said, "I'm just a Greenie like you. You do know you can demorph right?"

"Excuse me, but why are you harassing my Green Ranger," Andorran asked, to Jo's relief. "If he doesn't want to demorph, that's his prerogative. You ok, Drake?"

"A little overwhelmed," Jo admitted.

"So, you two leave him alone, he's had a hard day. Give him a while to get used to us, and then you can actually meet him." Andorran said.

Mac and Nerolan back away, and Andorran slipped inside, letting the door shut behind him. "Thank you," Jo said, sitting down on the bed. "It's not that I don't like people, but, you are all, what, ten years older than me? All of you have my danger senses going on maximum. It'll take time for me to relax."

"Well, here's the clothes I promised," Andorran said. "Sleep well, Drake." He set a pile of green cloth on the bed and let himself out the door.

"Computer, lock door," Jo ordered, "Do not unlock that door until I give the command, I don't care if it's the Pope himself out there."

"Compliance."

"Power Down." Jo said. As the morph finally faded, she shuddered at as a brief weakness engulfed her. Then she changed into the loose, button down shirt and pants that covered her feet, and giggled. It was like she was dressing in her dad's clothes again. She climbed under the blanket and closed her eyes. In moments she was deep asleep.

In the corridor outside, Andorran faced Nerolan firmly, "Look, Drake made his choice," he said softly, mindful of his sleeping green ranger. "He's young, he's scared, and he doesn't know who he can trust anymore. Please, Nerolan, don't ask him to demorph again. I think the only reason he hasn't bolted already is because we aren't trying to force him to do anything. If you and your team do that, we'll have a scared kid with Ranger Powers running lose."

"Then why did you take him on your Quest?" Nerolan replied.

"We didn't have a choice," Andorran said. "We'd reached the end and he just appeared. Zordon brought him to the Grid specifically to join our team. I don't know much about him, none of us do, except that he wants to be called Drake and Zordon says he's important to our team. We couldn't have the Power unless we accepted him. Zordon also had to talk him into being on the team. If you want to argue this with Zordon, why don't you go to Earth and ask _him._"

"Easy," Nerolan said his tone soothing and his posture non-offensive, "I'll warn the others off. Get some sleep, you're dead on your feet."

Andorran nodded and stalked down to his room, throwing himself on the bed with a sigh. He was a criminal, and he'd just lied to a Red Ranger he'd always respected and looked up to. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.


	2. Power Transfer

A/N: Drake is Jo...remember she's pretending to be a boy, so she has to think of herself as a boy...

Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright for Power Rangers, I'm just a writier with an idea that I had to share...there is no profit in this.

* * *

"Drake, please wake up." The Computer called in its cheerful, female voice.

Drake moaned softly. "Five more minutes," he groaned as he dragged the blanket up to his shoulder. He was so cold.

"Drake, wake up," Computer ordered and turned the lights on.

Drake jerked up right, "What?" he demanded, blinking.

"There is company in the Command Chamber, Andorran requests that you morph and join them." Drake froze, he wasn't in Dallas! The room itself told him that. He would have called it a cell, but there were no bars. He shifted and looked down; the oversized green shirt brought back his memories. Begin hit by the car, appearing in that place, becoming a Power Ranger on a planet that would kill him if they knew who he really was. "I am sorry, Drake, but Andorran has asked for all haste," the computer said.

"I'm coming," Drake snapped. He rolled out of bed and looked at his clothes, the oversized pajamas were the only thing he had that was green, so he opted to keep them on. "Marè Creesto," he said, triggering the morph. Once the Power settled he stepped to the door. "Unlock," he commanded. The door clicked and slid open. Drake strode down the hall, but stopped at the door to the Command Chamber and glanced in. His team was there, in morph, with two other groups, including Mac and Nerolan. _Lovely,_ he thought, trying not to be easily seen by those in the room.

Malachi spotted him and tapped Andorran's shoulder, Andorran turned and walked over, "Good morning, Drake," he said, his voice soft.

Drake gave him his best '_give me coffee and nobody will get hurt'_ look, "Morning, Andorran," Drake replied quietly. "What's going on?"

"Ceremony," Andorran replied, "to transfer the power of the Chamber to us. It's short and simple; you have one line to say. Then, we can get rid of all these people. I promise it won't take long. Now come, I want you to meet the High Council," He stepped to one side and put his hand on Drake's shoulder blade, pushing him out of the corridor and into the center of the room. "Ah, High Councilor Velian, I wish for you to meet the final member of our team, this is Drake. Drake, I make known to you High Councilor Velian."

"Ranger Drake," Velian said, he was an elderly man with a kind smile. "Welcome to the Ranger family."

"It is an honor," Drake replied, his tone steps away from a morning growl. He wished he dared make a comment about the time of day, but he didn't dare. The atmosphere did not seem conducive to a joke or two. Instead, he kept his head down, as if, even with his helmet, he was unable to meet anyone's eye, and he kept half behind Andorran.

Velian's smile was gentle; he'd been warned of the Green Ranger's seeming shyness and uncertainty. It did look as if the Green Ranger wished to bolt back to his room and never come out again. Not even the team that gathered around him offered him comfort. Given that he was the smallest member of the lot, he would be at the front of the up coming ceremony, when there was no doubt he'd rather be in the back. "It's time," Nerolan announced.

The High Council gathered in the center of the two Ranger Teams, with Andorran directing Drake into a place in the front, and the twins stepping directly behind him to keep him from wiggling around to the back. The First Councilor stepped forward as the blue recording light came on. "Greetings Marè Creesto," he said, "The time is at hand for a change of the Power Rangers. Last night, one of the groups on Power Quest returned with the Power. Today, we say farewell to our last team."

Nerolan stepped forward, followed by Andorran. "It has been an honor to serve," Nerolan said formally to the camera, "those who follow us will be as honorable in their service." He turned to Andorran and held up a red gem, "Now it is your turn, Andorran of House Orraset. Lead well, fight with honor."

Andorran took the gem with a bow, "It is an honor to serve." He stepped back, his armor shimmering over him for a brief moment.

Another man stepped forward, in a blue tunic. Nikolai stepped forward. "It has been an honor to serve," the man said, holding up a blue gem, "Now it is your turn, Nikolai of House Carsheesh. Serve well, fight with honor."

"It is an honor to serve," Nikolai said with a bow of his own.

Mac stepped forward, and with a nudge, Drake followed suit. "It has been an honor to serve," Mac said, holding up a green gem, "Now it is your turn, Drake of the Marè Creesto. Serve well, fight with honor."

"It is an honor to serve," Drake said, his voice trembling. He bowed and reached for the gem.

"And keep out of trouble, Green Ranger," Mac added, and then put the gem in Drake's hand with a wink.

Drake stepped back, trembling. Flanked by Nikolai and Malachi, he wondered how long this ceremony would last. In minutes, the last of the gems had been handed over. Andorran led his team in a bow, and then he said, "So the balance of power shifts, so the honor of our world becomes ours. We will uphold the laws, customs, and traditions of our people as those who came before us have done. Let our people rest in ease, knowing that we will do our duty and protect them." The blue light blinked off and everyone seemed to relax. Andorran turned to his teammates, "Good job, everyone. Just hang in a little longer." That last part was directed at Drake, who ducked his head and seemed to try to fade into the taller Rangers behind him.

"Actually," First Councilor said, "we should get back. I'm sure we've got work piling up."

"We should go to," Nerolan said, grinning, "We have lives to build, jobs to find, and families to reconnect with."

"Then I'll send you on your way," Andorran said, with a smile, "Computer, please teleport the former Rangers and High Council to the Council Building. It has been an honor to have you here." He said. The two groups vanished in a wave of color.

Drake was starting to relax when, with a yell of joy, the yellow ranger began to dance around the room, "It's ours, all ours!" He cried.

Drake stepped away from the team and hopped up on a blank section of consol, "I'm going to kill you, Andorran," he said, flicking his fingers and reverting to civilian form. "You didn't say we'd be on television today! You could have warned me!" He glared at Andorran, "And, 'we have company!' I was thinking the older Rangers, maybe, but still, some warning!"

Andorran also powered down, "I was afraid you wouldn't come out of your room."

"I shouldn't have," Drake snapped, "Good Lord, Andorran, I'm supposed to be keeping a low profile, not meeting the rulers of your planet!"

"Third Councilor Velian liked you," Malachi, or was it Nikolai, said, "he bought that you were a little shy and uncertain completely. That's good, nobody's going to think twice about you hiding up here."

"Computer, lock teleportation," Andorran said, "unlock only if there's an emergency."

"Teleportation locked down," the Computer announced.

"Let's eat!" The new black ranger said eagerly.

Drake's stomach growled, and he hesitated, but he needed names, "Wait, you do realize that I really don't know who you people are, right? We never introduced ourselves properly."

Andorran flushed, his red cheeks matching his red shirt. "Well, I'm Andorran, as I'm sure you know."

One of the twins, at least, Drake thought they were twins, waved, "I'm Malachi. I'll be the stiff one in public, because that's what they'll expect from an ex-military person."

"I'm Nikolai," said the other, "yes, we're twins. I'm the smart one, though."

"Hey!" Malachi yelped, glaring at him.

"Save the squabbles for later, _children_," said the black one, "I'm Kendor. It's good thing we have you around, maybe that'll keep them from fighting so much."

"I'll try my best to help," Drake replied.

"And I'm Emali," said the yellow ranger, who Drake thought might not like him that much. "Welcome to Mare Creesto."

"Thank you," Drake said, "I'm Drake, and I'm the green ranger." His stomach growled very loudly, inspiring laughter from his teammates. "So, what do you eat for breakfast?"

"Come and see," Kendor said.

In minutes, Drake had a bowl of strange, sliced fruit before him. He raised an eyebrow for a moment and poked it with one of the eating implements he'd been given. A piece stuck and he lifted it up, and carefully put it in his mouth. A juicy sweet flavor delighted him, "It's good," he said, "but man am I going to miss me some Lucky Charms."

"Lucky Charms?" Kendor asked, "What's that?"

"A breakfast food," Drake replied, "I didn't get to buy it often after my parents died, but it was my favorite. It's some sort of dried grain and marshmallows."

"What are marshmallows?" Nikolai asked.

"A very sugary food," Drake replied with a grin, "it's usually in a very soft form, and white. It's made of sugar mostly. You can put them in hot chocolate, or toast'em over a fire for S'mores, and they sometimes show up in breakfast cereal in a dryer form. This is good, though," he chewed and swallowed, "I can totally get into fruit for breakfast. It's better for me anyway." The team relaxed over breakfast, and finally, they sat back. The dishes vanished. "Wow," Drake said.

Kendor wiggled his fingers, "I'm a telekinetic, Drake. That's nothing."

"We'll discuss that later," Andorran said, "we need to talk about how we're going to have the Chamber."

"Bigger bedrooms," Drake said instantly, "I'm no claustrophobic, but I kept thinking I was going to roll off that bed last night."

Nods went around. "I'd like multi-room chambers," Nikolai said, "that way I can have some of my work close to my rooms."

"And I can have a place to work," Kendor said. At Drake's glance, he explained, "I'm an artist."

Drake nodded slightly, "Well, if we're talking about things we want, I'd love to get one of those courses my parents had for me when I was a kid. You know, to help improve flexibility and stuff like climbing and running. Oh, and gymnastics stuff, uneven bars, balance beam, a mat. I haven't been able to do much of that, either, and I loved gymnastics as a kid." At the sudden looks his way, he blinked, "What? I'm athletic; I like to have challenges for my body as opposed to my mind. Maybe I didn't have much of an education, but I'm no weakling."

"What do you mean?" Nikolai asked, looking startled.

"My parents home-schooled me," Drake said, "as in, they taught me, but they were killed before I got past long division. I can read, write and do a little math, but that's it. Most of my education is on a survival basis, when you're fighting to live, you don't exactly have time to go check out books from the local library."

"Would you like to learn?" Andorran asked.

"I know nothing about this place," Drake said, "I'm just supremely lucky that we speak a common language. If you're offering to teach me, I'll say yes."

"Then we will put that on our schedule," Andorran said.

Talk continued, as everyone talked about what they wished, and wanted. Finally, Andorran stood, "Let's do this," he said. "You still have your gem, right, Drake?"

Drake tapped the table, where it rested, "I don't have pockets," he said simply.

"Bring it with you," Andorran said, and started out. The other Rangers followed hastily, with Drake bringing up the rear. They entered the Command Chamber and made a circle in the center of the room. "Now, focus on what you want to see here," he said, "and hold out the gems."

They held out their hands and closed their eyes as the gems twinkled in the overhead light. Power surged around them, and light made them close their eyes tighter. Finally, the light faded, and then the Power calmed. Everyone opened their eyes, "Is it done?" Drake asked quietly.

"Let's go see," Andorran suggested.

They went down the corridor to where the rooms were, and found that the design had changed. Instead of the long corridor where the rooms sat side by side, the corridor now opened into a lounge, with room for furniture, three doors and a second corridor. The doors were red, blue and black, and Andorran, Nikolai and Kendor walked forward to open the door in their respective color. "Come on," Malachi said, he led Emali and Drake down the second corridor and into a second lounge, where the doors were green, white and yellow.

Drake opened the green door and stepped inside, as it slid shut behind him, he stared. A narrow hall with two doors was before him; beyond he could see an actual room. He opened the first door to find a closet. He shut it and went to the second, and found an empty room, which had no purpose he could think of. He entered the main room and gasped. It wasn't square, or round, but large, with a sunken fire place on one side, and what could become a dining area on the other side. There was a screened area and he looked behind it to find what might have been a computer terminal. He smiled and then entered the final door. It was clearly meant to be the bedroom, and it had two doors. He checked them and found a bathroom with a huge tub and a separate shower, and the other was a giant closet. His clothes from the day before were neatly hung up there.

On the back wall of the closet was a strange machine, Drake eyed it for a moment, then shut the door. "Andorran is at the door," the computer announced.

Drake left the bedroom and hurried through the living room and opened the door, "Hey," he said quietly as soon as Andorran looked at him.

"Is everything here all right?" Andorran asked.

"There's a lot of strange technology, and no furniture, but I like it, there's even colors other than green," Drake replied honestly. "Want to come in and explain what this stuff does before I blow myself up?"

Andorran smiled, "All right."

Drake stepped out of the way and Andorran walked in. "That's a closet," Drake said, pointing to the first door, "the other's just an empty room. Not sure what it's for."

"Training," Andorran said, "if you want to spar or meditate alone, that's what that room is for. Do you really not like green?"

"Ah," Drake said. He led the way into the living room, "I like to have variety, I spent a lot of my life surrounding by gray and brown, so I'd like to see harmonious color choices. I also think that's for cooking," he said, pointing at the dining area.

"Yes," Andorran said, "you have a stasis and a warmer. The last is a Synthatron; I'll show you how to program that later."

"All right," Drake said, "behind the screen is what I'm assuming is a computer."

Andorran looked, and nodded, "We'll show you how to use that, too."

"Great, now for the last one," he walked through the bedroom to the closet, "What is that?"

"A Replicator," Andorran said. He walked over, "Right now, it's programmed fairly basic, but when you learn how to use the computer, you can design more clothes for it and then punch in the codes here."

"Great," Drake said, "I could use something other than your oversized clothes to wear." He looked down at the green pajamas he was still padding around in, "And I can get some socks, or slippers, it's far to cold in this place."

Andorran flashed him a grin, "It's cute."

"Cute is for fluffy animals and small children," Drake said, smacking Andorran's arm. "Besides, you're supposed to treat me like a teammate, remember?"

"I remember," Andorran said with a sigh. "For now," he began to punch buttons on the machine, and a pair of black pants and a green top appeared on the shelf at the bottom of the machine. "Why don't you get changed and we'll all go back to the meeting room and figure out what everyone needs to learn. I know you aren't the only one who'll need to be taught something."

"Great, now get. I draw the line at being naked in the presence of my teammates." Drake said, taking the clothes.

Laughing Andorran left, he paused at the door, "Keep the night clothes, Drake, I don't need them."

"Get out already!" Drake shouted back. He changed into the outfit and found that they fit rather well. He followed the clothes with his boots and hat, and then hurried back out to find Emali standing in the lounge. "Hey," he said, suddenly nervous. The Yellow Ranger had yet to actually speak to him, and his silence made Drake nervous.

"Hi, Drake," Emali replied. "I said I'd show you where we're going."

"Fine by me," Drake said, "I don't know where anything is."

Emali gestured and Drake followed him down the hallway, "There is something else, though," Emali said.

"Yeah?" Drake asked.

"I don't want you to be offended, but I, well, I don't like women." He said finally, "I prefer men in my bed and my life."

"So don't think of me as a woman," Drake retorted. "It's best for all of us if we pretend that Jo O'Shae of Earth never existed."

"I'll try," Emali said, "but you make it hard to pretend."

"What do you mean?" Drake asked.

"Your whole mannerisms are female. You just scream 'girl' every time you open your mouth, and I don't mean your voice, although that's a dead give away." Emali said.

Drake sighed and stopped, "Emali, I'm trying here, but it ain't easy. Please, will you help me?"

Emali stopped as well, "I'll help as much as I can, Drake. For now, we need to get to the meeting, or Andorran will have our heads."

"Right behind you," Drake said.

It wasn't an easy beginning, Drake reflected, but it was a start.


End file.
